"That's the story of the game," Keuchel said of the offense. "Six runs should be more than enough in a game like this we barely won. I'll take it when I can get it. I have to be better myself."

Carter comes through

Carter, who led the Astros with 37 home runs last year, showed again why Hinch keeps putting him in the lineup.

Carter's quip to the bat salesman provides a window into a personality that helps him keep a steady demeanor while coping with a slow start to the season.

"It just came out," he said. "Just keeping it light messing around. This is a game of failure. If you get hits against the shift here and there, things look really different. I know that during the season it will balance out, and things will be how they should be."

The Astros lead the four-game series 2-1 heading into Sunday's finale.

Keuchel went 62⁄3 innings while giving up a season-high four runs with eight hits, two walks and seven strikeouts.

The four runs equaled the total Keuchel had allowed over his first six starts and 45 innings of the season entering Saturday.

Keuchel was pulled after Mike Trout hit a two-out single through the right side in the seventh. Pat Neshek took over against Albert Pujols and pitched 11⁄3 scoreless innings. Chad Qualls gave up a run and stranded two in the ninth for his third save of the season and the first since Luke Gregerson was placed on the family medical emergency list Friday.

Righthander Matt Shoemaker gave up six runs on six hits and one walk and four strikeouts in three innings for the loss.

Hinch saw immediate results after inserting Marisnick into the leadoff spot for the first time this season. Altuve, who led off all year, moved to the No. 2 spot.

Marisnick led off the first with a single to right field, but he was erased right away when Carlos Perez threw him out attempting to steal second. Altuve followed with a home run to left to give the Astros a 1-0 lead.

The Angels countered immediately. Kole Calhoun led off the bottom of the first with a single to center. Trout followed with an infield single. One out later, Keuchel walked David Freese to load the bases.

Erick Aybar then hit a two-run single up the middle to give the Angels a 2-1 lead. Keuchel walked Johnny Giavotella to reload the bases. He fell behind in the count 3-1 to Carlos Perez before inducing a 6-4-3 double-play grounder to escape further damage.

"Luckily I got out of there with only two runs," Keuchel said. "Man, I felt like I was going to give up the house. Thankfully I didn't.

"Offense came to play. Defense was there just like always, and we're celebrating a 6-5 win."

Rasmus hits 2-run shot

The Astros rallied right back. After Rasmus drew a leadoff walk in the second, Carter hit an opposite-field two-run blast to right field.

"It's nice to make contact like that," Carter said. "I've been working on approach. Hopefully, this continues and I can keep this going."

Marisnick got the offense going again in the third with a leadoff double to left-center field. Altuve moved him over to third with a groundout to second. Luis Valbuena gave the Astros a 4-2 lead with an RBI single to right. One out later, Rasmus hit a two-run homer to right field.

Keuchel (4-0) had retired eight in a row before Giavotella hit a one-out single to center field in the fourth inning. Perez followed with an RBI single to right. Trout cut the Astros' lead to 6-4 with a solo shot to center in the fifth for the first home run Keuchel has allowed this year.

The Angels threatened in the ninth. Collin Cowgill hit a two-out infield single to third, and Calhoun cut the deficit to 6-5 with an RBI double to left.

With first base open, Hinch was willing to gamble and put the potential go-ahead run at first.

"Obviously, Trout's one of the most dangerous hitters in the league," Hinch said. "I'm going to be very careful. That's why I ran out there.

"I wanted to get a little bit of pulse of what's going on and let them know what I was doing and why we were doing it and how much conviction I had in him getting the next guy out. And Qualls did it. It ended well. I'm proud of these guys."